Hollywood is Trying to Make Another ‘Mortal Kombat’ Movie

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We thought that a fatality had brought down any prospects of a new Mortal Kombat film a long time ago, but we were wrong.

Most of us didn’t even realize that a reboot was being developed (although we should’ve expected it) until the announcement a couple of weeks ago that Simon McQuoid, who is best known for directing commercials, had been tapped to direct the feature.

James Wan, who is on board to direct Aquaman and is best known for the Saw franchise and The Conjuring, is producing the project for New Line Cinema.

We don’t know much else about the upcoming movie, which is probably a good thing since it’s still in the very early stages of pre-production and we wouldn’t want something getting rushed out.

Wan, luckily, agrees. He told IGN back in August that while he is actively working on it, he’s not going to rush it into production.

“The key here is to try and do it right. I don’t want to rush into it,” he said.” “So right now, we’re just trying to take our time to make sure it’s heading in the right direction. I think that’s more important than trying to rush through it and pump up something that no one likes.”

We had previously heard about a reboot thanks to a 2010 short film that was supposed to work as a proof of concept for Warner Bros. Mortal Kombat: Rebirth, directed by Kevin Tancharoen, was a realistic reimagining of the world in the games that toned down most of the fantastical elements. While Tancharoen was brought on board to direct a full-length movie, he eventually left the project, and it evolved into what would become the Mortal Kombat: Legacy web series.

The first Mortal Kombat film, released in 1995, doesn’t age well, but it’s still one of the better video game adaptations. The special effects were great for the time, and it perfectly balanced the nonsensical plot of the games with an over-the-top and enthusiastic tone. It might not have been “good” in a traditional sense, but it was fun, had memorable performances, paid tribute to the property it adapted.

The sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, which was released in 1997, is another story, but we don’t talk about that. We’re just going to remember the first movie in all its 90s glory. And the games too, I guess.

Hollywood is going to be rebooting and adapting previous franchises. There’s nothing we can do about it. The best we can hope for is that the people behind each project want to make it good, instead of just making it exist. And if we get an actually good video game movie then even better.